Making Medical Implants out of Silk
At the University of Illinois, a new kind of electronics is becoming en vogue. Scientist at the university have been working on a silk-based electronic that can dissolve. This state-of-the-art technology is designed to reduce the number of electronic parts in landfills. Medically, it has a number of uses in modern medicine. As an implant, these electronics would be able to dissolve in the body’s fluids without leaving a trace that they were ever there.
Creating Silk Technology
The sophisticated devices are being made by a team at the University of Illinois in conjunction with researchers from Northwestern University and Tufts University. With their unique design, the silk gadgets are turning the way we view electronics around. In the beginning, electronics were made to last forever. Now, researchers are realizing the benefits of sturdy gadgets that can disappear.
Some of these gadgets have already been created. One of the newest lines of electronics is a 64-pixel camera. This unique camera is designed to be implanted into post-surgery patients. It monitors infections and dissolves in a controlled manner. Once the doctor deems the implant no longer necessary, it can dissolve within five seconds. Although the implant has not been tested on humans yet, it was successfully used with lab mice.
Making the Electronics
To create the electronics, researchers have to go through an exceptionally painstaking development process. Each gadget is made out of ultrathin sheets of silicon. These sheets must be made thin enough so that they can dissolve within days once they touch the body. At the same time, the camera must be outfitted with soluble conductors and dialectics. These electronic parts can create transmitters, sensors and other camera components.
For the dissolving process to be controlled, the camera is wrapped in silk. The silk is structured in such a way that it can determine how fast the electronic gadget dissolves. Scientists can select different varieties of silk so that their electronic equipment dissolves over a period of a few minutes to a few years.
Although this technology is not available to the consumer market yet, the possibilities are endless. With the help of silk, scientists can create a new breed of medical implants that are made to work with the body. These gadgets can help to gauge a patient’s recovery process and determine if there is an infection within an incision.
